Simone Sografi - Feste Euganee - 1815

FESTE EUGANEE TO BE CELEBRATED IN THE VERY FORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCE IN WHICH THE SOVEREIGN SACRED CAESAREAN MAJESTY OF FRANCIS I HONORS WITH HIS PRESENCE THE CITY OF PADUA (1815)
Rare original edition of the dramatic allegorical poem composed by Antonio Simone Sografi on the occasion of the official visit of Emperor Francis I of Austria to Padua, which occurred in December 1815, a few months after the Congress of Vienna. The work constitutes one of the most significant testimonies of the celebratory culture of the Restoration in the Lombardy-Veneto Kingdom, merging theatre, music, classical allegory, and political propaganda in a sumptuous apparatus destined for public festivities organized in the famous Sala della Ragione.
WHY TO BUY
Original 1815 edition.
Official document of the celebrations for Francis I of Austria.
Work by the renowned dramatist Antonio Simone Sografi.
Printed by the prestigious Bettoni Typography of Padua.
Interesting for the history of Italian Restoration.
Rare testimony of the municipal festivals of the Lombardy-Venetia Kingdom.
Keeps the contemporaneous binding.

MARKET VALUE
The celebratory publications produced for specific imperial visits generally had a very limited edition, intended for authorities, guests, and protagonists of the ceremonies. Many copies were later dispersed, making these works substantially rarer today than the common theatre pamphlets of the era. On the antique market, complete copies are rarely encountered and typically fetch prices between 250 and 300 euros, with higher valuations for copies in perfect condition and with intact bindings.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary editorial binding in stiff card, decorated with a gold fillet on the boards and spine. The copy shows losses of the outer paper on the margins of the boards, with widespread abrasions to corners and spines. The spine still preserves part of the gold decoration but shows wear and losses. Some pages with physiological foxing and halos. In old books with a long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 30; 2nn; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Feste Euganee.
Padua, Bettoni Typography, 1815.
Antonio Simone Sografi.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
In December 1815, Francis I undertook a journey through Italian territories recently restored to the Austrian monarchy after Napoleon’s fall. The visit to Padua represented one of the most symbolically important moments of restoring imperial authority in Veneto. To celebrate the event, a grand allegorical performance was organized in the Sala della Ragione, the building that symbolized the city. Sografi’s work constitutes the official text of the event: a true dramatic action in which classical deities, personifications of Truth, Minerva, Flora, and the Euganean divinities appear, recognizing the emperor as the restorer of peace and order after the Napoleonic wars. The text represents an extraordinary document of Restoration political culture, showing how theatre was used as a tool of consensus and representation of power.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Antonio Simone Sografi (1759–1818) was one of the most important Italian playwrights and librettists between the late 18th century and the early 19th century. Author of over one hundred and fifty theatrical works, he collaborated with the major Italian theatres and with renowned musicians of the era. Alongside comedies and melodramas he wrote numerous celebratory texts destined for civil and dynastic festivities, where he skillfully fused classical culture, scenic taste, and encomiastic aims. His works are today a primary source for the study of Italian theatrical and political life during the Napoleonic era and the Restoration.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The edition was printed by Bettoni Typography of Padua, one of the most prestigious printing shops in Northern Italy. Nicolò Bettoni was known for the elegance of his editions and for the high typographic quality achieved in the early decades of the 19th century. The printing of this volume falls within the numerous official publications commissioned by the city authorities on the occasion of the imperial visit. The edition was almost certainly limited to invitees, authorities, and bodies involved in the celebrations, a circumstance that justifies the rarity of the work in private collections and on the antique market.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Melzi, Dizionario di opere anonime e pseudonime.
OPAC SBN.
CLIO – Catalogo dei libri italiani dell'Ottocento.
Treccani, Antonio Simone Sografi.
Treccani, Nicolò Bettoni.
ICCU – Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico.